Fearful?
By CLAIM director Carl Vonnoh

All of us experience fear and trepidation from time to time. On September 7, 2002, I went for a regular eye examine. The doctor discovered that I have a cataract in my right eye that has to be removed so that my vision might be corrected. This is not supposed to happen to a fifty year old I thought. Even though doctors are very capable to handle this simple procedure the thought of someone poking and probing in my eye brings uneasiness and restlessness to my soul.

The events of 9/11 have brought many fears to the people of the United States. Folks worry about the economy. There are concerns over the security of our great Nation. Others have a gigantic fear of flying. As I conduct meetings over our wonderful land people tell me they are fearful of flying. This hinders some people from helping us with CLAIM projects.

Are you somewhat fearful today? King David experienced fear. In Psalm 55:5 David said, “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.” So what is the solution to this fear? We again hear from David. In Psalm 56:3 he says “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” The Philistines, enemies of David and God, took David to Gath as a hostage. Yet David trusted in the Lord and the Lord delivered David.

Are you overwhelmed with the events of 9/11? Does the thought of flying paralyze you? Do you get sweaty palms when you think about getting aboard an airplane? We all must deal with fear at one time or another. Fear must not cause us to loose our spiritual focus like a cataract that can cause us to loose our physical focus. Fear must not grip our hearts and cause us to become hostages. As King David said “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”

YOU are needed to make an impact on this world through the CLAIM ministry. All type of helpers are needed NOW. Will you look over the project list on the last page and get involved? The two trips that I had scheduled to Mexico and France were postponed by the missionaries until sometime after the first of the year. So you may want to prepare and help with these two projects later. Please help us help missionaries. By doing so we are able to see people get saved and lives changed by the Lord because you make a difference.

On Sunday September 8, 2002, I was traveling to a meeting on I-285 around Atlanta, GA. All of sudden a small flash of movement in front of the car attracted my attention. A squirrel made a mad dash across the freeway (six lanes of traffic) as he scampered to the median for safety. I could not believe my eyes (or at least my good eye). But it was true. The cars were zooming by at 60 and 70 miles per hour. Yet this squirrel seemed to have courage, maybe he did not understand fear. Our great God understands our fears. Let us trust in him. Let us take courage in the Lord and go against the grain of life. Let us make an impact.